School enrolment drops for third consecutive year: Government data
New Delhi: School enrolment in India has declined for the third year in a row, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Education, highlighting a concerning trend in the country's school education system.
The latest figures from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), as cited by Scroll on Friday, reveal that total school enrolment stood at 24.6 crore in 2024–25, down from 24.8 crore in 2023–24 and 25.1 crore in 2022–23. This marks a drop of 11 lakh students in the most recent academic year.
The data indicates that the decline is primarily concentrated in government and government-aided schools, while private schools continue to see an increase in enrolment. Between 2022–23 and 2024–25, enrolment in government and aided schools dropped significantly from 13.6 crore to 12.1 crore. In contrast, private school enrolment rose from 8.4 crore to 9.5 crore during the same period.
As a result, private institutions now account for 39% of total enrolment, the highest share since 2018–19. The shift in preference is also reflected in the number of institutions: government schools fell slightly from 10.18 lakh in 2023–24 to 10.13 lakh in 2024–25, while the number of private schools grew from 3.31 lakh to 3.79 lakh.
The sharpest decline in enrolment was observed among children aged 3 to 11 years where enrolment dropped by 25 lakh in 2024-25 compared to the previous year. However, modest increases were reported at the pre-primary, upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels.
This trend aligns with findings from the 2024 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), released earlier in January, which also highlighted a post-pandemic decline in government school enrolments.
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Four of family killed as car jumps divider on highway in Gujarat's Panchmahal
Godhra (Gujarat) (PTI): Four members of a family were killed, and one sustained grievous injuries after their speeding car jumped a divider on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway corridor in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Monday, police said.
The car driver lost control of the wheels near Kalol. As a result, the four-wheeler jumped the divider and veered off to the other side of the highway, an official from Kalol police station said.
Soon after the accident, some locals rushed to the scene and also alerted the police. Efforts were made to pull out the people trapped in the car.
Four persons died on the spot, while one suffered injuries, the official said.
The deceased were members of a family from Vadodara and were returning from Rajasthan when the tragedy struck, the official said.
They have been identified as Sajid Iqbal Khinji (55), Ilyas Iqbal Khinji (50), Ishaq Iqbal Khinji (48) and Rehan Azgar Khinji (35).
